Event Planner Confessions

A destination event should feel like more than a meeting that happens to be in another city.

In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, Cara Pratt, Ashley Currin, and Sam Monroe explore how event planners can build a real sense of place into an attendee experience without relying on obvious themes or destination clichés.

From creating an authentic Las Vegas experience for 10,000 attendees to transforming a Tampa ballroom after rain forced a beachfront event inside, the team shares how local knowledge shapes the decisions planners make when circumstances change.

They also unpack the l...

Every event planner has a Plan B. But what happens when Plan B is not enough?
In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, Cara Pratt, Ashley Currin, and Sam Monroe share the behind-the-scenes contingency stories their attendees never saw.
One indoor event was disrupted when a storm contributed to a generator failure and an electrical fire at the host hotel. Another required 500 attendees to be rerouted through a hotel gift shop after protesters blocked the primary transportation area. The team also revisits an island downpour, a limousine staging challenge, an 8,000-person block party, and a Hawaii experience that...

Modernizing an experienced event team does not mean starting over. It means knowing what to preserve, what to change, and who needs to be involved earlier.
In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, Cara Pratt talks with Dawn Wesley, Senior Manager of Agency Operations, Agency Awards and Recognition at Allstate, about team modernization, attendee experience, AI, supplier strategy, procurement, and the capabilities future event leaders will need.
Dawn has spent more than three decades at Allstate and 16 years in sales leadership. Before leading the company's event-planning team, she experienced its incentive programs as an attendee and award winner...

AI can generate content at extraordinary speed. It cannot recreate the trust, spontaneity, and shared memory of a live room.
In Part 2 of this Event Planner Confessions conversation, Ashley Currin continues her discussion with Jimmy Knowles, Global Head of Experiential at Canva, about artificial intelligence, human connection, experiential marketing, and the future of live events.
Jimmy explains why he is not afraid of AI and how his team uses it to reduce administrative work, improve planning, generate meeting agendas and recap emails, and create more time for creative thinking.
His goal is not to make AI the...

Canva is one of the world’s most recognizable digital platforms. Jimmy Knowles is responsible for making it something people can walk into, explore, and feel.
In Part 1 of this Event Planner Confessions conversation, Ashley Currin sits down with Jimmy Knowles, Global Head of Experiential at Canva, to explore how creative careers are built and how digital-first brands can create meaningful real-world experiences.
Jimmy shares the unconventional story of being offered his first events job from a commencement stage in front of approximately 11,000 people. That opportunity led him to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Fox, Civic Entertainment Grou...

More content is not always more valuable.

In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, Cara Pratt talks with Tavar James, vice president of global events at Forrester, about why the company introduced shorter, more intimate Forums alongside its flagship Summits and shortened experiences across parts of the portfolio.

Tavar shares how a listening tour with attendees, sponsors, clients, and internal teams exposed the real friction around event participation: higher travel costs, tighter budgets, too much time away from work and family, content overload, and sponsorship value that was not always obvious enough.

He explains...

Anaheim is one of the most recognizable destinations in the country, but recognition does not always lead to consideration.

Visit Anaheim’s research found that roughly nine out of ten people knew the city, yet there was a 64 percent drop between awareness and the number of people who would consider bringing a meeting or convention there. The challenge was not getting people to recognize Anaheim. It was helping them understand everything the destination offered beyond its most famous icons.

In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, Ashley Currin and Sam Monroe sit down with Scott Oklin, Ch...

Most event problems do not begin on-site. They begin much earlier, when expectations are misunderstood, important details are missed, or everyone leaves the same conversation with a different version of what was decided.

In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, Cara sits down with executive coach Evan Roth to explore the communication and leadership skills event professionals need when the pressure is high. Evan is also Cara’s business coach and helped her shape the original vision for the podcast.

Together, they break down why active listening requires more than staying quiet, how planners can create sh...

A packed calendar can look like ambition from the outside while quietly becoming the very thing that is burning you out. For event planners, every open space can quickly become another client call, site visit, internal meeting, networking event, travel block, or after-hours obligation. The work keeps getting done, but the margin disappears, the recovery time gets pushed aside, and eventually even success begins to feel exhausting.

In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, Cara sits down with burnout and peak-performance speaker Erin Stafford immediately after her “Burn Bright, Not Out” keynote.

Drawing from her experience as a...

Event gifting sounds simple until the wrong item ends up in a hotel trash can, the timeline gets compressed, or the planner realizes too late that “custom” does not mean “available tomorrow.”

In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, Sam sits down with Jamie Cohen and Jenn Allen to talk about what planners need to understand before they choose the next branded gift, swag item, or attendee activation.

Jamie and Jenn break down why the industry is moving away from basic throwaway merchandise and toward gifts people actually want to keep. They share what brands and products...

Experiential design gets talked about constantly in the events industry, but too often it gets reduced to flashy activations, trendy tech, or “wow factor” moments that do not connect back to the reason people gathered in the first place.

In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, Sam sits down with Michael Cirino, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of House of Attention, to unpack what experiential design actually means and why it should be treated as a business strategy. Michael shares how House of Attention thinks about memory, attention, creativity, risk, hospitality, and the intentional details that make an even...

Furniture is often treated like the last thing event planners figure out. But the right furniture can completely change how a room feels.

In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, Ashley sits down with Sarah Bradley and Renee Pool from AFR Events to talk about the furniture company behind major events. From new event furniture collections to national-scale logistics, this conversation looks at how furniture rental has become a major part of event strategy, room design, and attendee experience.

Sarah and Renee share what planners should know about designing with furniture earlier in the process, why...

Some event ideas feel impossible until the right creative partner figures out how to make them real.

In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, Ashley sits down with Melis Feingold, Senior Director of Creative Partnerships at Cohera, to talk about the art of spotting what’s next in events and turning inspiration into live experiences. Melis shares how she pulls ideas from fashion, technology, automotive, brand experiences, Instagram, and global event conversations, then traces those ideas back to the source to find the vendors, materials, and partners who can actually bring them to life.

From building im...

Planning an event is already hard. Planning one for a room full of event planners raises the stakes even more.

In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, Cara, Sam, and Ashley go behind the scenes of Cohera’s inaugural “Imagine That” event and unpack what it takes to create an internal event for people who live and breathe meetings and events every day. From bringing nearly 400 employees together after becoming one company to designing moments that felt intentional, energizing, and connected, this conversation explores the pressure of creating an event for an audience that knows exactly what good looks...

Planning an event is already hard. Planning one for a room full of event planners raises the stakes even more.

In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, Cara, Sam, and Ashley go behind the scenes of Cohera’s inaugural “Imagine That” event and unpack what it takes to create an internal event for people who live and breathe meetings and events every day. From bringing nearly 400 employees together after becoming one company to designing moments that felt intentional, energizing, and connected, this conversation explores the pressure of creating an event for an audience that knows exactly what good looks...

Event Planner Confessions is back for Season 3.
This season goes behind the scenes with the people, stories, and real event moments shaping the industry. From Fort Worth event energy to candid host moments and conversations with event professionals, Season 3 brings a fresh look at what it takes to create experiences people remember.
New episodes begin May 19.
🎧 Subscribe to Event Planner Confessions for event planner insights, behind-the-scenes moments, and real stories from the world of events.

Event creativity in the DMC world isn't about copying Pinterest boards... it's about building something no one's ever seen before. In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, Cara Pratt sits down with Danny McMillan, Director of Design and Development at COA Orlando, to unpack what it really takes to stay creatively sharp when you're producing thousands of events a year. From his journey as an intern in Boston to leading one of the largest creative teams in the Orlando market, Danny shares the behind-the-scenes truth about how top DMCs push past cookie-cutter theming and deliver experiences that actually surprise attendees.<...

In this episode, we sit down with Nicola, CEO of ELX — the exclusive community for senior event leaders at enterprise companies. Nicola shares her winding career path from incentive travel dreamer to leading one of the most talked-about communities in the events industry.

We dig into what makes ELX different, why event leaders feel so isolated in their roles, and how Chatham House rules create a space for real, unfiltered conversation. If you want to learn more about the community, visit https://www.eventleaders.com/.

Nicola also gets into the data that keeps her up at ni...

Tony Lorenz has spent 30 years in the events industry — building a company from the ground up, selling to Freeman, leading PRA through 16 acquisitions, and now serving on the board at Cohera. In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, Tony shares how he scaled PRA from $65M to $200M, why the DMC category needs to move upstream, and how AI should be treated as a partner — not a replacement — for the human intuition and taste that make great events possible.

Plus, Tony shares two hilarious confessions: the time his team lost a five-star general's luggage right before a Colin Powell...

Join us for an insightful conversation with Ronnie Collins from Visit Anaheim as we explore what it takes to create truly engaging trade show experiences in today's distracted world. In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, we dive deep into strategic booth design, the importance of experiential engagement over traditional swag, and how to maximize value during appointment-based shows like IMEX and IPW. Ronnie shares why hydration stations and intentional conversation spaces outperform tchotchkes, and how Visit Anaheim is preparing for their brand refresh launching in 2026.

🔔 Love the podcast? Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe!

Join us for an honest conversation about the evolving landscape of industry conferences and trade shows. We're breaking down what really influences event attendance decisions—from the macro factors like budget constraints to the micro moments like unexpected traffic jams.

🔔 Love the podcast? Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe!

What does it really take to build culture that lasts in a 24/7 industry?

In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, we sit down with Carrie Campbell, longtime hospitality leader and the force behind Evergreen, formerly Fenway Park Events. With 16 years of experience building teams, experiences, and trust inside one of the most iconic venues in the country, Carrie shares the lessons that shaped her leadership philosophy.

From the intentional rebrand of Evergreen to the often-overlooked power of recognition, Carrie unpacks why caring for your people isn’t a “nice to have,” it’s a strategy. She gets can...

If the headlines feel chaotic, how do you figure out what is actually happening with the economy and what it means for your meetings?

In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, host Cara sits down with Mike Dominguez (ALHI) to cut through the noise and translate big economic signals into practical, planner level decisions. From why the “story” about the economy often misses what the data is showing, to where budgets are actually moving in 2026, Mike breaks down what to watch, what to ignore, and how to plan with more confidence.

You’ll learn:
How to sep...

Struggling to figure out what to wear to your next company event or conference? Let’s talk about what actually works.

In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, Cara Pratt, Ashley Currin, and Samantha Monroe break down what actually works when you’re attending events. From hair and makeup decisions to blazers, graphic tees, denim, all-black onsite looks, and the great sneaker debate, they share real-world rules of thumb planners rely on when packing for long show days.

You’ll hear how to balance professionalism with practicality, why branding yourself (sometimes down to your nails) matters onsite...

Convening Leaders isn’t just another conference. It’s a carefully designed experience that helps set the tone for the entire events industry year.

Samantha Monroe and Ashley Currin sit down with Karla-Jean Zander, Director of Operations & Experience at PCMA, to break down what makes Convening Leaders stand out from intentional event design and first-timer experiences to education, wellness, and community connection. Karla shares how PCMA thinks about networking, learning, and flexibility, and why planning ahead matters just as much as giving yourself permission to go off-script.

You’ll hear practical advice for navigating a massive confer...

Event marketing is changing fast and relying on last year’s playbook is one of the quickest ways to fall behind.

Ashley Currin and Jay Schwedelson unpack the most common pitfalls in event marketing, why routine tactics no longer deliver, and how small shifts in email, social, and video strategy can dramatically improve engagement.

You’ll hear how to create campaigns that stand out, where to test new ideas, and how to avoid sending the negative signals that quietly hurt registration.

They also talk through ways to communicate the value of experimentation to stakeholders, so y...

Is AI the way of the future for events, or is the human connection what truly matters? And how do you create an unforgettable vibe at a crowded industry show like IMEX?

In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, we dive into the intersection of technology, energy, and career development in the events industry with event tech expert, Dahlia El Gazzar. You'll hear about how Dahlia Plus is helping planners bridge the gap between vision and technology, what happens when planners are simply burned out, and why sometimes, the most effective strategy is putting down the...

Only 40% of attendees say they had a real “peak moment”, even though 80% of event planners think they delivered one. So… who’s right?In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, Cara sits down with Ken Holsinger, SVP of Strategy at Freeman, to reveal what the data really says about creating experiences that matter.💡

You’ll learn:Why attendees aren’t impressed by celebrity keynotes (and what they want instead)The rise of peer-to-peer connection and how to design for itHow to “architect serendipity” and make space for real momentsWhat DMCs can do to turn destinations into storiesWhy sometimes, the smartest move i...

What really happens when two event powerhouses decide to join forces?

In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, we sit down with Trevor Hanks, CEO of the newly launched Cohera, to unpack the chaos, strategy, and human side of one of the biggest DMC mergers in recent history.

Trevor shares what it actually takes to merge teams, brands, and cultures without losing the magic that made each company special. From balancing transparency and timing to navigating private equity pressures and emotional loyalty to legacy brands. This is a candid look at what goes on behind closed...

One event. Four generations. Infinite tension. In this episode, we unpack what happens when Gen Z wants a mocktail lounge, Boomers ask for printed agendas, Millennials chase the perfect vibe, and Gen X holds everything together, quietly judging us all. We’re diving into how each generation shows up at events: how they network, what they wear, how they want to be communicated with, and why planners are stuck designing four different experiences in one. Plus: we battle it out in The Generational Clash, decode post-event feedback in Who Said It?, and go head-to-head in our Draft Day Showdown to bu...

One event. Four generations. Infinite tension. In this episode, we unpack what happens when Gen Z wants a mocktail lounge, Boomers ask for printed agendas, Millennials chase the perfect vibe, and Gen X holds everything together, quietly judging us all.
We’re diving into how each generation shows up at events: how they network, what they wear, how they want to be communicated with, and why planners are stuck designing four different experiences in one.
Plus: we battle it out in The Generational Clash, decode post-event feedback in Who Said It?, and go head-to-head in our Draft Day Sh...

Corporate event jargon can make even simple projects sound like rocket science.
In this episode of Event Planner Confessions, co-hosts Cara Pratt, Ashley Currin, and Samantha Monroe unpack the buzzwords, decode the double-speak, and reveal how fancy phrases can quietly wreck budgets. 
From “white glove service” to “engagement metrics,” they’ll translate hype into plain English, show you when jargon helps—or hurts—and arm you with language that actually lands.
Connect with us → https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/event-planner-confessions/
🔔 Love the podcast? Don’t forget to subscribe an...